Owls Travel North to Face Mean GreenThe Owls will be back in action for the first time since last Sunday when they lost a 62-61 heartbreaker in overtime at UAB. Rice is still in search of their first C-USA victory and will be going up against a Mean Green squad that is coming off a 59-58 overtime victory at UAB. Last season these two teams played a pair of epic contests, with Rice winning both in overtime. Rice defeated the Mean Green 100-97 in 3OT on Jan. 10 and followed that up with a 2OT triumph in Denton on Jan. 30. The Owls lead the all-time series over North Texas, 5-3.

Last Time OutThe Owls were outscored 12-11 in overtime and nearly erased a five-point deficit in the final 30 seconds in a 62-61 OT loss at UAB last Sunday. UAB (8-6, 1-2) was able to inbounds the ball with a little over a second remaining and ran out the clock. Rice led 45-38 in the fourth quarter with 8:51 remaining but UAB slowly chipped away at the lead and was able to tie the game at 50-50 on a three-pointer from Rachael Childress with 54 seconds remaining in regulation. In OT Goodwine gave the Owls a 52-50 advantage but UAB responded with the next eight points to go up 58-52 with 1:02 to go. Goodwine then tied her career-high with her second made three-pointer of the afternoon, bringing the Owls to within 58-55. UAB would make just enough free throws the rest of the way to fend off the Owls.

Goodwine Surpasses 1,000 PointsSenior forward Jasmine Goodwine became the 16th player in Rice history to surpass 1,000 career points with her season-high 28-point performance last Sunday at UAB. With her 28 points Goodwine enters play on Saturday with 1,026 career points, which positions her as 15th all-time on the Rice scoring list and now just nine points away from tying Krystal Frazier (1,035 points) for 14th place. Goodwine has shined since the start of league play, averaging a team-best 16 points per game on 48 percent shooting in four games.

North Texas Scouting ReportThe Mean Green, who was picked to finish sixth in the C-USA Preseason Poll, opens a three-game homestand on Saturday where North Texas holds a 3-3 record this season. Sophomore guard transfer Terriell Bradley (Kansas) leads the team in scoring (12.7 ppg) while four other players average six or more points. North Texas ranks second among all C-USA teams in turnovers forced per game (20.0) and ranks fifth in total steals (115).

Sharing The RockRice ranks second in Conference USA in assists per game (15.8) and total assists (237). Senior point guard Maya Hawkins ranks second in total assists (78) and third in assists per game (5.2). The Mansfield, Texas native is also fourth in C-USA in assist turnover ratio (2.0). Hawkins has dished out 5 or more assists in nine games this season.

Doing It With DefenseThe Owls have allowed 70 points in a game this season just once (at Middle Tennessee) and rank as the top scoring defense in C-USA (56.2 ppg). Rice's 36.0 opponents field-goal percentage ranks first in C-USA.

What's NextThe Owls will return home to play Louisiana Tech (Jan. 19) in their first game at Tudor Fieldhouse since Jan. 1 vs. Charlotte. It will mark a stretch where Rice plays five of seven games at home.